This invention relates to an improved lamp holder assembly adapted for use in a series of spaced-apart decorative lights, such as Christmas lights, and includes a removable annular-shaped cap member which locks rotatably onto a socket member to positively retain an electrical bulb therein. The invention particularly relates to a lamp holder having a u-shaped fastener clamp integrally molded onto the lockable cap member for affixing the lamp holder to a desired support structure or surface. The lockable cap member also includes a wire guide potion located adjacent to the fastener clamping element, for receiving and positioning electrical wires leading to and from the lamp holder socket.
Many types of lamp holder assembly arrangements are disclosed by the prior art, however, they all exhibit various lamp deficiencies and shortcomings for convenient and reliable usage. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,072 to Kall discloses a lamp socket having a direction fixture integrally formed as part of the socket for retaining the electrical wires so as to orient the socket in the direction of a series of lamp sockets spaced along the wires. The socket direction fixture has an elastic access notch for retaining the wires, but no provision is made to affix the lamp holder to another structure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,288 to Maddock discloses a lamp holder which has an integral clip formed by a pair of spaced-apart radial jaws for attaching the lamp holder onto a structure such as screw head. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,741 to Wang discloses a bulb fastening structure for Christmas light strings, which includes an annular cap attached securely onto a socket by utilizing inner interlocking projections. Other prior art patents employ various conventional clips on a lamp socket body for positioning the lamp socket onto a structure such as a tree limb. However. none of the known prior art discloses a lamp holder assembly having the advantages and benefits as provided by the present invention.